DIY: Hula Hoop Chandelier
Wedding tents, pergolas, and porches are perfect places for today's project.
We love how a string of lights and a few accessories that you may already have on hand turn a basic hula hoop into a beautiful chandelier!
Materials
- Hula Hoop - find one at a dollar store, a big-box retailer, or at home in the toybox
- A string of icicle lights on either white or green wire
- Wire ties, twist ties, or velcro ties
- Ribbons or tulle (optional)
- Twine, ribbon, or fishing wire (to hang the project)
Instructions
Gather your materials!
The hula hoop chosen for this project is just over 2 feet in diameter - almost as if designed for this project!! We can't imagine actually hula hooping with this little guy.
We had weddings in mind when we started this project so we removed the outer tape and were very excited to see white underneath.
As an alternative, the original colors could be used to decorate for a party.
If the hula hoop doesn't have such an easy to remove tape cover, spray paint it or wrap it tightly in a white wired ribbon.
For this project, we pulled a set of white icicle lights on white wire. For a party, multi-color would be a fun choice.
These icicle lights are built on three circuits. Just keep unwrapping and untying!
We used the white ties that come with the icicle lights to attach them to the hula hoop. Wire tires and velcro ties would be super-handy as well. We cut the ties into thirds.
Twine is also a good choice for installing the lights if you are headed in a rustic direction and works well for hanging the finished chandelier in a natural stain pergola or gazebo.
Check your decor stash for tulle ribbon for a more formal feel.
Start the light installation!
We start with the female end on projects so the male plug will be easy to access.
As you work with the set of icicle lights, keep an eye that you are attaching the "main" wiring harness that has three wires to the hoop.
The "icicle" parts of the set only have two wires. If you aren't careful, you'll find yourself backtracking because you've attached a "leg" instead of the center wire to the hula hoop.
Loop your tie through the main wiring harness to help it stay in place.
And just keep going!
After one rotation around the hoop we still had this much string left. We wound it around a couple more times, untwisting and then retwisting the twist ties as we went along.
Wire ties would work the same way except you'd just keep adding them.
Add tulle ribbon to hang the hoop. This is the minimalist final light fixture - perfect for the peaks of wedding tents and 10-foot easy-up tents as well.
Turn off the lights for the full effect!
Now, it's time to consider optional add-ons.
Wrap the tulle ribbon around the hoop to soften the lights and the look of the wires.
Wrap the hula hoop with wired ribbons.
Our favorite and unexpected addition: Use twine to add bouquets of faux summer flowers!
We love this whimsical look and we felt like we had just skipped through a meadow as we attached the stems. (All it actually took was a trip to a craft store with a 40% off coupon. Much easier during the Texas summer.)
For a wedding, it would be a fun project to replicate the bride's flower choices and complete the chandeliers in advance.
Adding more flowers.....
Dimming the lights!
Here is a photo of the outdoor installation.
As the sun went down, this project became more beautiful. Evening guests made lovely comments over a glass of wine. One of our friends said it looked like one of those medieval festival flower crowns.
We call that a victory!
We'd love to see your finished chandeliers! #christmaslightsource @christmaslightsource
Have a fantastic weekend!
